PAS-C01 Operations and Maintenance Practice Question
A company runs SAP on AWS and has configured automated snapshots of EBS volumes for backup. The operations team discovers that the snapshots are not being deleted after the retention period. Which action should be taken to ensure snapshots are automatically deleted?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager to create a snapshot lifecycle policy.
Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager (DLM) allows you to create automated lifecycle policies for EBS snapshots, including automatic deletion after a retention period. Option A is incorrect because S3 Lifecycle policies do not apply to EBS snapshots; EBS snapshots are stored in S3 but are managed separately. Option C is incorrect because while possible, using CloudWatch Events and Lambda is not the recommended managed solution; DLM is purpose-built for this task. Option D is incorrect because there is no native retention policy on EBS volumes; retention is handled through snapshot lifecycle policies.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Set an S3 Lifecycle policy on the snapshots.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. S3 Lifecycle policies do not apply to EBS snapshots; snapshots are stored in S3 but are managed through DLM or manual processes.
- ✓
Use Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager to create a snapshot lifecycle policy.
Why this is correct
Correct. Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager (DLM) provides managed lifecycle policies to automatically create and delete EBS snapshots based on retention rules.
- ✗
Create a CloudWatch Events rule to invoke a Lambda function for deletion.
Why it's wrong here
A CloudWatch Events rule can invoke a Lambda function to delete snapshots, but the scenario requires a solution integrated with the EBS snapshot lifecycle. The correct approach uses Amazon Data Lifecycle Manager (DLM), which natively manages snapshot creation and deletion based on retention policies without custom code. This option is tempting because CloudWatch Events with Lambda is a common pattern for automating arbitrary cleanup tasks, and it would work if the snapshots were created by a separate process rather than requiring a managed, policy-driven lifecycle.
- ✗
Configure retention policy directly on the EBS volume.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. EBS volumes do not have a native retention policy for snapshots; snapshot lifecycle management requires an external tool like DLM.
Quick reference
AWS S3 Storage Class Comparison
| Storage Class | Min Duration | Retrieval | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| S3 Standard | None | Immediate | Frequently accessed data |
| S3 Standard-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Infrequent access, rapid retrieval |
| S3 One Zone-IA | 30 days | Immediate | Non-critical infrequent data |
| S3 Intelligent-Tiering | None | Immediate–hours | Unknown or changing access patterns |
| S3 Glacier Instant | 90 days | Milliseconds | Archive with instant retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Flexible | 90 days | Minutes–hours | Archive, flexible retrieval |
| S3 Glacier Deep Archive | 180 days | Hours | Long-term compliance archive |
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PAS-C01 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the PAS-C01 exam.